School integration started in 1964

From the StarNews archives:

Published: Wednesday, June 4, 2014 at 8:00 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, June 3, 2014 at 9:11 p.m.

50 years ago

June 13, 1964: Three Raleigh teenagers were injured by a shotgun blast about midnight while visiting the site of the Maco Light in Brunswick County. The three teens – two 17 and one 15 – suffered leg injuries and were not in serious condition. The three were among six youths from Raleigh visiting Carolina Beach. The six had decided to try and see the Maco Light. They were walking along the railroad tracks when they heard noise near their car. They returned to the vehicle and discovered the windshield had been smashed and other damage done to the car. As they were inspecting the vehicle, three of the teens were hit from behind by a single shotgun blast.

(StarNews reporter Ben Steelman did a very thorough article on the Maco Light a few years back and you can still read it online. The best way to find it is do a web search for THE MACO LIGHT BRUNSWICK'S 'TRUE' GHOST STORY. The old Maco Station was near the intersection of N.C. 87 and U.S, 74/76).

June 13, 1964: WWAY, a new TV station proposed for Wilmington, signed an agreement to become an affiliate of the ABC Network, according to Billy Broadfoot, president of WWAY operator Cape Fear Telecasting Inc. WWAY planned to carry the network's complete lineup. (WWAY would come on the air for the first time Oct. 30, 1964. On Jan. 24, 1981, an Air National Guard jet flying at low altitude clipped a guy wire, causing WWAY's broadcast tower at Boiling Springs Lake to topple. Longtime StarNews reporter and editor Merton Vance recalls that the station was off the air completely for a month, but did manage to resume broadcasting on a shorter tower while a bigger replacement was built near Winnabow).

June 16, 1964: Ouch! A man's left, gray tennis shoe with a severed foot in it was found washed up on the shore at Holden Beach, where it was discovered by a 17-year-old Raleigh girl. The foot was severed almost even with the top of the shoe and appeared to have been in the water only a short time. Local officials said there had been no reports of any accidents or missing persons that would have explained the mystery.

June 17, 1964: After estimating it would cost about $8.5 million to construct New Hanover County's new hospital – on South 17th Street – the hospital's board was pleased to see several bids come in under that amount. Money for the project included $4 million from the N.C. Medical Care Commission and $5.5 million in bond money approved by local voters.

June 17, 1964: New Hanover County Board of Education members were told at the meeting that it would be at least two more academic years before the proposed John T. Hoggard High School could be built and open.

Another interesting snippet from the report on this meeting noted that the board approved several requests from students to be transferred from all-black Williston High, Williston Junior High and Gregory Elementary to white schools New Hanover, Chestnut and College Park.

This left me a bit confused. I was under the impression that integration did not begin until after Williston high school closed in 1968.

The case Carolyn Eaton et al. vs. New Hanover County Board of Education had just been filed in March 1964.

The best I can tell, in the fall of 1964 a few black students were allowed to attend white schools by special permission of the school board, but it would not be until 1971 when the March 1964 federal lawsuit led to the complete desegregation of New Hanover County schools.

I asked local-history expert and author Beverly Tetterton – retired from her job at the library, but still in pursuit of history – if she could shed some light on the transition toward integration.

Beverly checked the New Hanover High School yearbooks for the period and reported back with this:

Hi Scott,

I looked at the New Hanover High School yearbooks today:

1965 – I only saw two black students, so it could have been a handful. One was Tyra Bryant, who went there all three years of high school.

1966 – Library doesn't have this yearbook.

1967 – 45 black students (14 sophomores, 13 juniors, 18 seniors including Larry Reni Thomas, who wrote "The True Story of the Wilmington Ten").

1969 – Williston is closed and students from there are attending Hoggard and New Hanover.

Beverly sent me a page from the Hanoverian that shows black students mingling with white students. The page notes that 400 students from Williston were attending New Hanover, bringing its student body population to 2,300.

Does anyone recall when the first black students attended all-white schools here? By the time I started school in the fall of 1970, my school, Sunset Elementary, was integrated best I can recall.

That was first grade. There was no public school kindergarten. My second-grade teacher at Sunset, Mrs. Small, was black and her daughter, Rochelle, was an accomplished athlete at Hoggard. I did not have another black teacher until 1977 – at Lake Forest Junior High. I remember well Mr. McNeil, Ms. Lyde, Coach Emerson, Mr. Carlos Williams, Mr. Walter Williams, Mr. MacIntyre and Mr. McCloud. It wasn't until later that it occurred to me that some of these teachers had taught in the segregated school system here.

Contact Scott Nunn at Scott.Nunn@StarNewsOnline.com or 1003 S. 17th St., Wilmington, N.C., 28402. See the Back Then archive at StarNewsOnline.com/backthen.

<p><b>50 years ago</b></p><p>June 13, 1964: Three Raleigh teenagers were injured by a shotgun blast about midnight while visiting the site of the Maco Light in Brunswick County. The three teens – two 17 and one 15 – suffered leg injuries and were not in serious condition. The three were among six youths from Raleigh visiting Carolina Beach. The six had decided to try and see the Maco Light. They were walking along the railroad tracks when they heard noise near their car. They returned to the vehicle and discovered the windshield had been smashed and other damage done to the car. As they were inspecting the vehicle, three of the teens were hit from behind by a single shotgun blast.</p><p>(StarNews reporter <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic14"><b>Ben Steelman</b></a> did a very thorough article on the Maco Light a few years back and you can still read it online. The best way to find it is do a web search for THE MACO LIGHT BRUNSWICK'S 'TRUE' GHOST STORY. The old Maco Station was near the intersection of N.C. 87 and U.S, 74/76).</p><p>June 13, 1964: WWAY, a new TV station proposed for Wilmington, signed an agreement to become an affiliate of the ABC Network, according to Billy Broadfoot, president of WWAY operator Cape Fear Telecasting Inc. WWAY planned to carry the network's complete lineup. (WWAY would come on the air for the first time Oct. 30, 1964. On Jan. 24, 1981, an Air National Guard jet flying at low altitude clipped a guy wire, causing WWAY's broadcast tower at Boiling Springs Lake to topple. Longtime StarNews reporter and editor Merton Vance recalls that the station was off the air completely for a month, but did manage to resume broadcasting on a shorter tower while a bigger replacement was built near Winnabow). </p><p>June 16, 1964: Ouch! A man's left, gray tennis shoe with a severed foot in it was found washed up on the shore at Holden Beach, where it was discovered by a 17-year-old Raleigh girl. The foot was severed almost even with the top of the shoe and appeared to have been in the water only a short time. Local officials said there had been no reports of any accidents or missing persons that would have explained the mystery. </p><p>June 17, 1964: After estimating it would cost about $8.5 million to construct New Hanover County's new hospital – on South 17th Street – the hospital's board was pleased to see several bids come in under that amount. Money for the project included $4 million from the N.C. Medical Care Commission and $5.5 million in bond money approved by local voters. </p><p>June 17, 1964: New Hanover County Board of Education members were told at the meeting that it would be at least two more academic years before the proposed John T. Hoggard High School could be built and open.</p><p>Another interesting snippet from the report on this meeting noted that the board approved several requests from students to be transferred from all-black Williston High, Williston Junior High and Gregory Elementary to white schools New Hanover, Chestnut and College Park.</p><p>This left me a bit confused. I was under the impression that integration did not begin until after Williston high school closed in 1968.</p><p>The case Carolyn Eaton et al. vs. New Hanover County Board of Education had just been filed in March 1964.</p><p>The best I can tell, in the fall of 1964 a few black students were allowed to attend white schools by special permission of the school board, but it would not be until 1971 when the March 1964 federal lawsuit led to the complete desegregation of New Hanover County schools.</p><p>I asked local-history expert and author Beverly Tetterton – retired from her job at the library, but still in pursuit of history – if she could shed some light on the transition toward integration.</p><p>Beverly checked the New Hanover High School yearbooks for the period and reported back with this:</p><p>Hi Scott,</p><p>I looked at the New Hanover High School yearbooks today:</p><p>1965 – I only saw two black students, so it could have been a handful. One was Tyra Bryant, who went there all three years of high school.</p><p>1966 – Library doesn't have this yearbook.</p><p>1967 – 45 black students (14 sophomores, 13 juniors, 18 seniors including Larry Reni Thomas, who wrote "The True Story of the Wilmington Ten").</p><p>1968 – 66 black students, including sophomores Grenoldo Frazier and Carolyn Eaton, Dr. Eaton's daughter.</p><p>1968 – Last year Williston is open.</p><p>1969 – Williston is closed and students from there are attending Hoggard and New Hanover.</p><p>Beverly sent me a page from the Hanoverian that shows black students mingling with white students. The page notes that 400 students from Williston were attending New Hanover, bringing its student body population to 2,300.</p><p>Does anyone recall when the first black students attended all-white schools here? By the time I started school in the fall of 1970, my school, Sunset Elementary, was integrated best I can recall. </p><p>That was first grade. There was no public school kindergarten. My second-grade teacher at Sunset, Mrs. Small, was black and her daughter, Rochelle, was an accomplished athlete at Hoggard. I did not have another black teacher until 1977 – at Lake Forest Junior High. I remember well Mr. McNeil, Ms. Lyde, Coach Emerson, Mr. Carlos Williams, Mr. Walter Williams, Mr. MacIntyre and Mr. McCloud. It wasn't until later that it occurred to me that some of these teachers had taught in the segregated school system here.</p><p><i>Contact <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic61"><b>Scott Nunn</b></a> at Scott.Nunn@StarNewsOnline.com or 1003 S. 17th St., Wilmington, N.C., 28402. See the Back Then archive at StarNewsOnline.com/backthen.</i></p>